List: Top 5 tree diseases in Austin and how to spot them

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Trees have been through a lot the last few years in Central Texas. In 2021, the snowy freeze, and then in February 2023, the ice storm.

Meteorologist Nick Bannin spoke with Kevin Martin, an arborist with Davey Tree Expert Company, about the diseases you're most likely to see in Austin and Central Texas.

KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bannin: Kevin, thanks for being here. You've got the list of the top five most prevalent tree diseases here in Central Texas. What are they?

Kevin Martin, Arborist with Davey Tree Expert Company: Here in Austin, we're looking at oak wilt, rust, hypoxylon canker, blight, and root rot are gonna be our top five.

Bannin: And how can you tell the difference between those or at least the signs that you have one of those tree diseases in your tree?

Martin: So, those four first four I mentioned, oak wilt, rust, blight, and hypoxylon canker, all four of those, you're gonna start losing leaves, whether they're going to be splotchy, some rust would be spore-colored, kind of dust on the bottom of the leaves. If your tree is losing leaves, during this time of the year, or during the growing season, more than likely you do have an issue with that tree.

Bannin: And what about the signs that you have root rot with your tree?

Martin: So root rot, your biggest sign is going to be mushrooms growing at the base of the tree. There's a lot of different forms of root rot, one of the biggest ones that you want to look out for is, is a red mushroom with a white lip that's Ganoderma applanatum. If you see that, then more than likely, we have a big problem and that tree has the potential to fall over.

Bannin: What about the first four diseases with the losing of the leaves, what problems down the line can that cause your tree?

Martin: Constant defoliation of your tree is going to lead to other issues; insect issues, boring insects that are going to bore into the tree, as well as rot and other funguses... it's nature, it's going to kick you while you're down.

Bannin: Now, are there things as a homeowner with these trees to either prevent the diseases of the tree or to help treat the diseases of those trees?

Martin: Yes, the healthier you can keep through your tree -- it's just like us -- the healthier we are, the less susceptible we are going to be to getting ill. So, routine watering, at least annual fertilization and just going outside and looking at your trees every so often to make sure they haven't changed.

Bannin: Now if they are losing leaves are you spot the mushrooms there, what can you do to treat that as a homeowner?

Martin: As a homeowner depending on the size of the tree, there may be some products you could purchase at a nursery or Lowe's or Home Depot that you could use to apply to the foliage or to the root flare. But if a tree is large, then you're gonna need somebody with some equipment that could that can spray the entire canopy and reach those heights.